Not Anymore
by sirensong15
Summary: She could never understand why he was always alone, never playing or talking to anyone. Well, one day she decided to change that.


**Well, there's really no other way to describe this except just a short, cute one-shot. Hope you enjoy! :)**

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She would always wonder why he would just sit there on the edge of the playground, all alone, staring blankly at the ground. Sometimes he would look at the sky, his eyes following the moving clouds overhead.

It seemed like he was always alone. She came to the park's playground almost every day with her sister, and her father or brother would watch them. She would watch him suddenly get up and walk away, leaving without any parents or siblings. He would never look back, so he never saw her frowning at his retreating form.

She honestly didn't know what to think of him. It seemed like so many of the boys wanted him to play with them, but he never did. He simply shook his head no. There were even more girls that tried to talk to him. They would all gather around him, try to talk to him, and to feel his hair. When he would look up at them and tell them to stop, they would walk away blushing and giggling.

"Karin, Yuzu, it's time to go home!" her father called out, standing from the bench that he was sitting on nearby. Yuzu ran to him immediately, hugging his leg and smiling at him. He ruffled her hair in return. Karin glanced back at the boy one more time before running back to her father. As they were walking home, Karin decided that she would talk to him tomorrow, so that maybe she could understand him.

He saw the dark-haired girl leave with her sister, and walked home soon after.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As soon as Karin got to the park, she ran to the playground and looked for him. She couldn't see him, and she began to feel disappointed, thinking he didn't come today. A light breeze suddenly blew, and she could hear the leaves of the trees rustling. She turned her eyes toward the tree that was closest to the playground, and saw him sitting under the it, hands behind his head. She smiled to herself and began to walk over to him, and stopped a couple of feet in front of him.

"So, why are you sittin' here all by yourself?" Karin asked him. She didn't expect a reply, since he never really talked to anyone else. A few moments went by, and he still hadn't acknowledged her, so she turned around and began to walk back the way she came. She only took four steps before she heard a voice.

"Because I like to."

At the sound of his voice, she immediately turned back toward him. She walked the few steps back to be in front of him. She looked down to see his face, and gazed into the most beautiful teal eyes she had ever seen.

"Why? Don't you ever get lonely?" Karin asked, tilting her head to the side just slightly. He looked up at her for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders.

"Not really. I'm pretty much always by myself anyway. It doesn't really bother me anymore." He closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree once again. She frowned at his response. Then, a thought suddenly came to her, and she smiled to herself. She immediately plopped herself down right beside him.

"Not anymore," Karin said. He opened his eyes again, and raised a brow at her in question.

"What?"

"I meant that you're not gonna be by yourself anymore," she stated with conviction. He narrowed his eyes a fraction before chuckling.

"I'm not?" he asked rhetorically.

"Nope. From now on I'll be with you." At her words, they both looked deeply into one another's eyes for a long time. Finally, he broke their gaze and looked around the park.

"Fine. Do whatever you want," he said in an almost bored tone. She only leaned back against the tree trunk and smiled. They sat there for a while in silence, just enjoying the beautiful afternoon weather. Karin thought that sitting beside each other and not speaking would be a little uncomfortable, since it was with her other friends, but it was just the opposite. It was very peaceful. She let her eyelids fall closed and relaxed.

After about ten minutes of not speaking, felt something hit his shoulder. He opened his eyes, looked down, and saw that she had fallen asleep. He smiled as his eyes took in her peaceful features.

"Karin! Yuzu! It's time to go!" Isshin called out. The boy looked over toward the playground to see a girl with blond hair run over to her father. He then glanced down at the dark-haired girl still sleeping on his shoulder. He really hated to wake her up.

"Hey," he said, gently shaking her shoulder. "You need to wake up. Your father is calling you."

"Huh?" Karin asked, her voice a little deeper from sleep. She lifted her head off of his shoulder and looked into his eyes. She looked at him for a few seconds before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you. You probably hate me now, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," he said seriously. Karin's facial expression immediately changed to one of sorrow. "I was just kidding. I don't hate you." Karin smiled quickly before punching him in the arm.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" she replied. He only smirked at her.

"I know." They looked at each other for a few minutes before starting to laugh. They would have laughed for a while longer, but Karin's father called for her again. Karin looked over and saw her family waiting for her. She stood up and looked at him.

"I've got to go, but before I go, we should at least know each other's names. I'm Karin," she held out her hand for him to shake. The snowy-haired boy stood up and took her hand into his.

"I'm Toshiro."

"Well Toshiro, I'll see you tomorrow. After all, I made you a promise that you won't be alone anymore. And when I make a promise, I never go back on my word." She smiled at him and they let go of the other's hand. She turned and began to run toward her father.

He turned around and began to walk home, a smile adorning his face the entire way.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next day, as soon as they got to the park, Karin ran toward the tree that Toshiro was sitting under the day before. She got near it, and he wasn't there. She turned around to see if he was on the playground, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Toshiro," Karin said in a raised voice. She didn't get an answer, but something hit her on the back of the head. "That hurt," she mumbled, and bent down to pick up the little pebble that hit the ground. She looked at it questioningly before looking up into the tree and narrowing her eyes up at him. He was sitting on a branch, smirking down at her, and holding another pebble between his fingers.

"So I see you came back," Toshiro said, more as a statement than a question.

"Of course I came back. I told you I would," Karin replied, and started to climb the tree. Toshiro was impressed by how well she could climb. It didn't take long before she reached the branch that he was sitting on, and pulled herself up to sit beside him. "So Toshiro, how long have you been up here?"

"Not too long. I climbed up here right before it got loud." She looked at him strangely after she heard his reply.

"How old are you, Toshiro?"

"I'm seven. Why?" She began to laugh, which only made him get confused. He raised a brow at her antics, and she eventually stopped laughing enough to speak.

"No one would think you're seven with the way you talk. You sound like an old man," Karin said happily, still laughing slightly.

"I am not an old man," Toshiro huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sure you are," she replied. She reached up and ruffled his hair. "You've even got the white hair to prove it." She started to laugh again, and he looked at her once more before starting to climb down the tree. When she saw him going down, she stopped laughing and grabbed his hand that was still gripping the branch that she was sitting on. She pulled hard on his hand, silently telling him to come back up. He did climb back up, but when he sat down he narrowed his eyes at her in anger and crossed his arms over his chest once again.

"I'm sorry, Toshiro. I didn't mean those things I said. I was only teasing you," Karin said apologetically. "Besides, I like your hair. It's different than everybody else's."

"Alright, I accept your apology," Toshiro said, the anger dissipating quickly from his voice and posture. "How old are you, Karin?"

"I'm seven, the same as you," she said, smiling at him. "Why?" He uncrossed his arms and shrugged.

"I figured since you asked me how old I was, it was only fair that I get to know how old you are. Plus, you don't really act like the other girls that are our age, either."

"Is that a good thing?" Karin asked worriedly. Toshiro looked into her eyes, and could see the beginnings of doubt forming. He was going to tease her, but after seeing the way she was looking at him, he didn't want to seriously hurt her feelings.

"It's a very good thing," he said, smiling at her. She smiled back at him, and they both looked out onto the playground from the spaces in the leaves and branches. They sat in silence for a while, just merely enjoying the other's company, but they also talked for a long time. Even though they had only met yesterday, they were well on their way to becoming best friends. Too soon, they heard her father calling for her and her sister again. They both climbed down the braches and jumped the rest of the way to reach the bottom. Once their feet touched the ground, Karin turned to face Toshiro. Before she could think too much about it, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. When she pulled back, she could see him starting to blush.

"What was that for?" he asked, turning his head to look at her. She could feel heat forming on her cheeks as well from the intensity of his gaze.

"Think of it as another part of my apology from earlier. Well, I better get going. I'll see you tomorrow!" Karin smiled and waved at him before turning around and running toward her father and twin sister.

Toshiro watched her leave until he could no longer see her before beginning to walk home, a smile on his face and a warm feeling in his heart.

"I guess I won't be alone after all."

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**Well, I said that it was short, but it's like once I started writing this, I just couldn't stop! If enough people want it, I might continue this as a series of related one-shots about Toshiro and Karin being kids and growing up. And as for my other stories, no I didn't abandon them. The next chapter of Can't Fight This Feeling should be out by Monday at the latest, and I'll explain myself in the A/N there. Anyway, please tell me what you thought of this! :) **


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